Error Machine Podcast 111 & 112: E3 Rumors and the RPG Countdown

What exactly makes an RPG an RPG? Game Informer‘s most recent issue had an idea, but to be perfectly honest, my co-host and I disagreed with their suggestions very strongly. That’s the main topic of this episode of the Error Machine Podcast. We look over their list of the top 100 RPG games of all-time and break it down a little bit. Their criteria for the list was very broad, and we felt some games on the list don’t fall under the RPG genre. So that leads back to the initial question: What makes an RPG an RPG?

If a game gives you a character that levels up, is that enough to make it a role-playing game? What about new gear? New weapons? What about turn-based combat? Does an RPG have to have all of these to be considered for the genre? What if a game doesn’t have any of them? What about the tone or setting? We get into all of that in the latter half of the show.

We also discuss some smaller independent titles like Has Been Heroes, a rogue-like RPG with possibly the worst tutorial in video game history, and Little Nightmares, a really neat little game that can best be described as a 2D platformer that feels as if it were made by Tim Burton.

I also talk a little bit about Prey. To be perfectly honest, this game has become one of the bigger surprises of the year for me. I didn’t have a great deal of interest in the game before firing it up, but it is a surprisingly interesting game with a lot of cool ideas.

And since we’re a little behind, we’re going to go ahead and throw in episode 112 for you just so you can get caught up. This episode I talk about my new love/hate relationship with Prey, how amazing Horizon Zero Dawn is, as well as some E3 rumors.

Luke has the dilemma of having an excess of Nintendo eShop credit and not knowing what to do with it. And in our news section, we talk about what Platinum’s “interesting” Nintendo Switch game could be, as well as the lost Mario anime being found.

Dustin loves Jesus. He's also a youth pastor, podcaster, YouTuber, former professional wrestler, and the utmost authority on The Simpsons seasons 3-10.
Dustin and his wife Heather live in the Cincinnati area, where they root for many losing sports teams.

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